Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International

Status: Critically Endangered

The mission of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International is to conserve and protect gorillas and their habitats in Africa. The Fund is committed to promoting continued research on the gorillas and their threatened ecosystems and to providing education about their relevance to the world in which we live. In collaboration with government agencies and other international partners, the Fund also provides assistance to local communities through education, health, training, and development initiatives.

First established in 1978 as the Digit Fund by Dr. Dian Fossey, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International has been working for almost 50 years to protect and conserve mountain gorillas. As a result, mountain gorillas are the only ape whose numbers are known to be increasing, although it is still an incredibly fragile population, with fewer than 900 individuals remaining. Since Fossey’s death in 1985, the Fund’s activities have expanded to include protection of Grauer’s (eastern lowland) gorillas as well as mountain gorillas and other endangered species in the gorillas’ habitats. The Fund also has established numerous health, education, and economic development projects in partnership with local government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, universities, and with the communities that share the gorillas’ ecosystems. The Fund’s goal is to create a healthy environment for both people and gorillas and empower Africans to become leaders in conserving their own natural resources.

Gregg Hudson, president and CEO of the Dallas Zoo and the Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park, currently serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.

Why is this organization important to the Dallas Zoo?

The Dallas Zoo has a long history of caring for gorillas in Dallas; it also places a high priority on conserving threatened gorilla species and their ecosystems in Africa. The Zoo greatly values projects, such as the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, that effectively use conservation science, education and community involvement.